The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West Review!

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

I was immediately interested from page one of The Fill-In Boyfriend. Its story is one that will have you interested from the start, and it will have your emotions in its grasp too. I love contemporary novels like this one where my emotions are so I tune with the story that whenever something happens to the main character that hurts her then my heart aches too. It sounds crazy but it’s true. There were so many instances in this book where that happened. I wasn't prepared for the emotions this book had me feeling. I wanted to strangle Jules and murder Gia’s brother, Drew. Gia's mother was infuriating too. God, they made me so MAD. It's rare that characters piss me off so much, but these characters managed to push ALL of my buttons. Needless to say, I was rooting for Gia to show them all that she was a better person and that they are the assholes. Anyway, while anger was a prominent emotion while I read The Fill-In Boyfriend so was happiness. Gia and Hayden being together made me happy; their relationship definitely hit me in the feels. Hayden and Bec, His sister, making me laugh so much too. Their witty banter had me rolling!

Usually I read contemporaries with guaranteed fluff because I need a break from heavy plots and all that that usually dominates the fantasy genre, but I got so much more than fluff with The Fill-in Boyfriend. After I finished the book, I felt enlightened, and I felt like I took something away from it. Those are the best kinds of books in my opinion. As Gia struggled through lies, horrible friends, an unusual family dynamic, and confusing feelings, she grows to be a better person and she soon realizes that sometimes, life doesn't always go as planned but that’s okay. I honestly loved this book for taking me on such an emotional and thought provoking journey. It is books like these that make me love reading so much. Books like this one can be fun and take your mind off of things, but also get you to think and feel the emotions of the characters. It's a beautiful thing!

I never expected to love this book so much, but then again I shouldn't be surprised that West has written another great book. I really did love Gia and her story, and not to mention Hayden too. I really needed a contemporary like this to make me think about my life and reevaluate things. Nevertheless, this was also the fluffy book that I needed. Every moment between Gia and Hayden was filled with sparks of chemistry. They were just perfect for each other. Even though I almost cried because of them at one point, I loved how different they were but still right for each other. It was interesting to see them falling for each other as the book goes on.

Anyway, I loved this book and everything about it. The characters and the plot had me hungry for more after every chapter, and the amount of emotions this book made me feel had me even more in love with it. It will be pretty easy to add this book to my favorites list. The Fill-In Boyfriend definitely deserves five out of five stars.